Battle Tactics
by CaliforniaBurnin
Summary: In a region ravaged by war and genetically mutated animals, the people of Kanto live with the creatures they once created to fight a deadly war. The story follows a girl, Allison, and her best friend Kenidee as they raise their Pokémon and unravel deadly government cover ups that were never meant to come to light.
1. 0

I could recall the day that my father plopped the Eevee in front of me. It was an eager creature, looking a bit like a fox (or what I remembered a fox to look like. At this time, the war had been going on for six years, and the animals had all disappeared.). I did not trust this creature. Behind that cute face was a monster, with power that could kill with a simple command. The rest of the people in Kanto had already accepted the Pokémon as their new reality, as if the creations didn't slaughter the entire animal population. All the fish, mammals, and birds had been replaced by these genetic mutations that were created to be the perfect weapon. I may have only been nine, but I knew an abomination when I saw it. "What is it?" I asked tonelessly. I ran my fingers through its soft brown fur. He rubbed his head against my hand and I pulled away in disgust.

"It's an Eevee!" My dad announced happily, "I've been training him, and I'm allowed to keep him at home while I'm here. He's very special. Very strong." The Eevee opened its mouth in a pant and I could see the jagged, sharp as knives teeth. It was a monster. I hated father was saddened by this, and eventually he left again for war. This made me sad, but I was more than glad that he took the monster with him. I was ten when I last saw my father.

The war ended less than a year after my father left. I can't exactly recall what happened. Just that the military men came to my door, they whispered some stuff to my mother, who fell to her knees and let out wails of anguish. They gave her his dog tags, uniform, and a small red and white ball that I had come to recognize. A Poke ball. Eevee. My mother left it on the table. She couldn't bear to look at it, or any Pokémon for that matter. The memorial service was a week later. His body hadn't been recovered.

That night after my mother had fallen asleep, I snuck into the kitchen and snatched the Poke ball before scurried back to my room. After observing the tiny ball for a minute, I pressed the center button. It expanded in my hand and I dropped it. The container unit split open and a blinding silver light exploded before my eyes. I looked away until the light took a shape. I almost didn't recognize the creature. It no longer looked like a fox. The monster was bigger. The fur was jagged and yellow, with a wreath of white around its neck. Its eyes were pure black, but I still knew. It was one of Eevee's many evolutions. I recognized it as Jolteon.

It was the same Pokémon my father took with him to battle. "This is your fault." I muttered darkly. His black eyes shone with regret. "This is all your fault!" I screamed, balling up my fists and striking the monster. The thing muttered its own name, as if it knew nothing else. It was only programmed with the thought of its name, the only thing it would only be able to utter. "You killed my daddy! You're a monster!" I hit him again and again and again. Tears streamed down my face and I ignored the bursts of electricity that spiked up my arms. Eventually, I stopped swinging my arms at the Jolteon, who merely stared at me with large, sad eyes. I was panting heavily. "Why didn't you save him?" I sobbed, "Why didn't you bring home my daddy?" I fell to my knees, covering my face as I cried. I felt Jolteon's cold wet nose nudge my face softly. I pulled my hands away from my face. His eyes pled for an apology. He stretched out his pink tongue and scraped it across my cheek. I stared in shock for a moment before breaking down into another fit of sobs and tossing my arms around his neck.


	2. 1

"I've been thinking about leaving." I said lowly, rubbing my fingers through Jolteon's static charged fur. My eyes shifted to the brunette girl lying in the tall grass. A Geodude rest on her lap and dozed in the sunlight. Kenidee was definitely tougher than she looked, as she was seen carrying her beloved Geodude everywhere.

"What would your mom say?" Kenidee sat up, shifting Geodude slightly. Her bright green eyes gleamed in the light.

"She would tell me that she needed me at home, but I'm nineteen for Christ's sake. I should have left years ago." I put both hands on the ground and lay back. Jolteon rubbed his head against my elbow, giving me a shock. He stopped after a moment, distracted by the rustling of Pokémon in the bushes. His lips pulled back from his teeth in a threatening snarl. "Go ahead." I jerked my head to the trees and he disappeared into the bushes.

"He's pretty quick." Kenidee speculated, rubbing Geodude's head. He let out a low grumble of approval.

"Yeah. We go running every evening. Fast as lightning." I winked and Kenidee let out a small chuckled that showed she wasn't exactly amused.

"So, you're serious about leaving?" Kenidee's tone forced me to look her in her eyes.

"Absolutely. I cannot stay cooped up here." I quirked an eyebrow at her grin. "What? What's up?"

"My parents have been practically pushing me out the door. Apparently, my interning for Oak is up and he has been dying for me to get some field work in." Kenidee was running her fingers through her long caramel hair.

"You would make an excellent researcher." I stood up as Jolteon trotted out of the tress with blood smattered jowls. "I'm going to go have a conversation with my mother. I'll call you when I get an answer out of her."

A long argument, a lot of tears, and a few days later, and I was throwing clothes into my bag (which my mother would quickly remove and fold to prevent wrinkles. When I protested, she told me that since she was letting me go, I would do things her way. Less than a week after my discussion of leaving with Kenidee, I pulled on my stuffed backpack. "Will I really need all this stuff, Mom?" I huffed.

"Yes, I promise. Also… I want to give you this." With shining eyes, my mom held out her hand. When I took it from her, I teared up myself. My father's dog tag dangled from a chain.

"Mom…" I choked out. She hadn't taken of the tags since the day of my father's funeral.

"I want you to have it." Mom smiled at me and hugged me tight. I forced back my tears. I slid the chain over my neck and hid the tags in my shirt.

"I love you so much, Mom. I love you so much." She smiled.

"One more thing." I rolled my eyes and laughed as my mother rushed from the room. She came back with a small red and white ball in her hands.

"Where did you get that?" I said warily.

"I traded for it when I went to Viridian a few weeks ago. It's a Cubone. After the Viridian gym, there aren't any good Pokémon that are strong against Brock…" She pressed the center button and dropped it on the ground. The Poke Ball split open, and I watched the white light take form. A small Cubone sat on the floor, covering its eyes. After a moment, it let out a soft, pitiful wail.

"Oh, God." I got on my knees, sweeping the creature into my arms. "It's okay. Don't worry baby." I ran my fingers down the long ridges on his back. I cradled him like a baby.

"Tragic creatures, Cubone... Their mothers always being hunted... It's almost worse that they leave the baby alive just to restart the cycle…" I nodded slowly, hushing the Cubone.

"I wish I had a pouch to carry him in…" I said, "To make him feel more at home."

"I might have something that will work." Mom retreated into her room yet again and came back with a large green wrap. She fashioned it beneath my arms and around my neck as a makeshift pouch. Tenderly, she placed the Cubone (who had thankfully stopped whimpering) into the pouch. He gripped my hair like an infant and buried his face into it.

"I love you mom. I'll call you when I get to Viridian."

We shared one last tearful hug before I walked out the door to meet Kenidee at route one.


	3. 2

When I met my brunette companion, she was leaning against a post reading "Route 1 Pallet-Viridian".

"Hey, what took you so long?" Kenidee stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Mom had a present for me." I pulled my hair back to show Cubone's shy face. Immediately, he ducked behind my neck.

"What a cutie." Kenidee smiled, "Did she trade for him?"

"Yeah, that's what she told me." I bounced him lightly. "Come on, let's go to Viridian." The walk was short, only about forty-five minutes. We walked carefully through the tall grass. I let Cubone fight the small Pidgeys and Rattatas that we came across, figuring he could use toughening up if I was going to use him in the first gym. As we entered ViridianCity, Cubone did not look nearly as timid as he had been when I received him. The town was beautiful, lush and green. There were no paved roads, only beaten dirt paths lined with beautiful flowers. I had been here multiple times with Kenidee to pick up supplies for Prof. Oak, who was not too keen on leaving his lab. The last time we had been here, we picked up a custom Poke Ball from the shop. He never told us what it would do, even when we had asked. I looked around the tiny town before fixing my eyes on the Gym. Anxiety coursed through my veins.

"Do you want to drop Cubone at the PokeCenter and have some lunch before we head to the gym?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." We walked to small distance to the aqua roofed building.

"Welcome to the PokeCenter." Nurse Joy smiled at us from the door. "Would you like us to heal your Pokémon?"

"Yes, please." We handed over our poke balls and she placed them in the machine. They glowed slightly and a light music played from the machine.

"It helps with healing process." The pink haired nurse smiled again. "It calms them down."

"That's pretty cool." Nurse Joy handed us back the Poke Balls. As I was moving to put them in my bag, Nurse Joy smiled yet again.

"You really should be using a belt. Putting them in your bag makes them viable to break, and you cannot reach them if you are in a critical situation." Her smile didn't waver.

"Oh, um… Where would you suggest I buy one?" I straightened up.

"The Poke Mart should be selling them." Her smile still did not dissipate.

"Thank you." Kenidee and I walked out. "That was creepy." I muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"That Nurse Joy is just a little too happy is all. It's probably just part of her job." I shrugged as we entered the small mart.

We had lunch on a small hill overlooking Route One. We let our Pokémon out of their containers to play a little in the sun. Jolteon watched as Cubone and Geodude ran around while Kenidee and I snacked on sandwiches we had packed from home. I fed bits and pieces to Jolteon, who continuously rubbed his static charged head against my head when I neglected him. "God damnit, why don't you go play with those two! I'm not giving you any more!" Jolteon snorted and walked a few steps away from me to express his displeasure. While we were eating, Kenidee pulled her newly acquired Pokedex and scanned each of the Pokémon.

"Are you ready to head to the first gym?" Kenidee asked, hefting her Geodude into her arms.

"I think so." I picked up Cubone and bounced him nervously.

"Alright, let's go." Slowly, we walked past all of the buildings, chatting with a few strangers along the way. We approached the gym, and I tried to still my shaking hands. We walked around the gym, not being able to climb up the hill at its front.

"Nervous?" Kenidee asked as we approached the door. I looked at her, and she had a reassuring smile spread on her face. I smiled back and looked back at the building. The word GYM was plastered multiple times across the structures stony exterior.

"Just a little." I said, taking a deep break.

"Come on. You can't lose with Jolteon and Cubone by your side." Kenidee leaned down to pet Jolteon. "Let's head in."

"Okay." I reached for the handle and gave it a gentle tug. It caught, not opening. I tried a few more times.

"Hey, chick!" I whirled around. A boy was standing at the base of the hill with a cocky smirk on his face. "The gym's closed!"

"I gathered, thanks!" I snapped back.

"It's been closed for a while." The boy wrestled his way up the hill. He stood before me and smiled. His hair was the color of melted chocolate, his eyes a mixture of gray and blue. He dominated me and height, and he looked older than Kenidee and I, "You must not be from around here." He had a coy smile poised on his lips yet again.

"We're from Pallet Town." I growled. "I've never been here for anything except deliveries, so I suppose I wouldn't know it would be closed."

The chocolate haired boy laughed, "You're funny. Aren't you a little too old to be a beginning trainer?"

Jolteon let out a snarl. I hushed him, glancing at the small Charmander trailing the boy, "Aren't you?"

The boy lost his smile. He looked at Jolteon, whose jagged fur was popping with static. "The next open gym is in Pewter." He winked at me, "Maybe I'll catch you there." I flushed.

"Dear God, I hope not." As if he didn't hear my comment, the boy turned and walked away. His Charmander followed closely behind him, casting furtive glances behind him.

"He was cute." I turned to Kenidee, who had a grin plastered on her face.

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Let's head to Pewter."


End file.
